IT’S HARROWING to watch: In a video shot on what looks like a clear day, a Boeing 737-800 wobbles visibly, its metal wings lapping like a bird’s, before it lies past the runway, where the pilot has clearly determined it isn’t safe to land.
The video was made last April, weeks before the official opening of the airport on the British territory of St. Helena, a volcanic island more than 1,000 miles of the coast of Africa. The clip shows a test light by South African carrier Comair. Because of heavy wind on the island, the pilot made two hairy attempts at touching down before he landed the plane.
The jetliner did not crash that day, but the hopes and dreams of the cutoff islanders sure did. The blustery weather resulted in the suspension of a multimillion-dollar plan to bring commercial lights to St. Helena. The British government is paying for the construction of a £285.5 million ($365 million) airport in an attempt to bring an end to the island’s centuries of isolation.